Richard Oliver: NBA Finals, Game 1

Express-News columnist Richard Oliver is part of the coverage team for tonight’s Game 1 of the NBA Finals showdown between the Spurs and Cavaliers. He passes along his observations:

Fourth Quarter: Spurs 85, Cavaliers 76

Now it’s three for four.

The Spurs, riding a superb offensive night by Tony Parker, with a game-high 27 points and seven assists, and a smothering defensive effort against Cleveland star LeBron James and his teammates, used a big third quarter to ease to an 85-76 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

James, whose explosive scoring carried Cleveland past Detroit in the Eastern Conference finals, was held to only two field goals through three quarters, finishing with 14 points on 4-for-16 shooting in the face of harassing defense from Bruce Bowen and occasional backups.

Meanwhile, the Spurs Big Three of Tim Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili totaled 67 points and 25 rebounds to pace a resurgent San Antonio effort in a game that began very ugly.

Former University of Texas player Daniel Gibson had 16 points, including Cleveland’s final seven in a furious flurry at the end that fell well short.

The Spurs had seen an 18-point lead with 7:15 remaining trimmed down to eight with 1:53 left.

 Well, it’s not supposed to be easy this time of year, right?

Cleveland, down by 18 with 7:15 remaining, has gone on a 13-4 run, paced in part by three costly Spurs turnovers, to trim the score to 78-69 with 2:27 left.

Sasha Pavlovic has five points to key the run, including a nifty drive and reverse layup with 2:50 remaining.

LeBron James, rendered silent by the Spurs’ defense throughout the game, has nailed 3-pointers on successive Cleveland possessions to pull the Cavs to 76-62 with 5:56 remaining.

James, who had scored only two field goals through the first three quarters, now has gone 4-for-14 in the game, but his quick hot streak has infused the Cavs with a little hope as time bleeds away.

Tony Parker, with four points in the last 1:19, is up to 24 on the game.

The Spurs have outrebounded Cleveland, 39-29.

 The Spurs, who scored 26 of their first 42 points in the paint, have decided to wander out a little farther in the fourth quarter.

Manu Ginobili and Robert Horry — where have you been, Big Shot? — nailed 3-pointers in the first two minutes and the Spurs continued to punish Cleveland on defense en route to a 72-54 lead with 8:36 remaining.

Tony Parker’s jumper at the 8:53 mark added another layer to what has been a superb showing, including 20 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Tim Duncan, who spent the early moments of the fourth resting on the bench, has 18 points.

Remarkably, LeBron James has hit only two — count ’em, TWO — field goals in this game.

Third Quarter: Spurs 64-49

Simply, in a game that has often devolved into ugly stretches on both sides, the Spurs’ defense has been simply spectacular.

Cleveland, held below 40 percent shooting all night, was smothered on only 14 points in the third quarter — after being held to only 15 in the opening quarter — in tumbling to a 15-point deficit.

Tim Duncan and Tony Parker, who had scored 26 of the team’s 40 points by halftime, got help in the third quarter as Bruce Bowen took time off from hounding LeBron James to hit two key 3-pointers. Manu Ginobili added another six points, including his second 3-pointer of the game.

James, who scored his first field goal of the game in the third quarter, now has eight points and six rebounds.

 With the Cavaliers enduring another third-quarter swoon — with only 14 points to this point — the Spurs have stretched their lead to 64-49 with 47.9 seconds remaining.

Bruce Bowen’s second 3-pointer of the game, with 1:23 remaining, is the key bucket in a 6-2 run to space the Spurs’ lead.

 Oui, Tony!

Tony Parker, continuing to make a significant impact, has a bucket and two crucial assists — including a remarkably alley-oop to Manu Ginobili — in a span of 2:34 to spur San Antonio to a 58-47 lead with 3:21 remaining in the third quarter.

Ginobili’s second 3-pointer of the game, with 4:39 left, was the capper of a 9-4 spurt that forced Cleveland coach Mike Brown to call time out.

Tim Duncan now has 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks to lead the Spurs, while Parker has 18 points and seven assists.

 It ain’t pretty, but it’s effective.

That pretty much describes the Spurs’ performance in tonight’s Game 1, which sees San Antonio up 49-43 with 5:56 remaining but always seemingly on the verge of breaking the thing open. The fact that it doesn’t is more than a little nerve-wracking for the gathering on hand.

Bruce Bowen’s 3-pointer with 6:25 remaining gave the Spurs a 49-41 lead, their largest of the game, but Drew Gooden rebounded with his third field goal of the half to keep Cleveland close.

The biggest headline for the Cavs came with 7:15 left when LeBron James snaked in to the basket for his first field goal of the game, snapping an 0-for-9 skein.

Halftime: Spurs 40, Cavaliers 35

Manu Ginobili picked a nice time to hit the Spurs’ first 3-pointer of the game.

Ginobili’s shot, with 1.9 seconds remaining, gave the Spurs a 40-35 lead in a game marked by sloppy play — and smothering defense — on both ends of the court.

Remarkably, LeBron James has been held scoreless from the field, missing all seven of his shots as the Spurs have swarmed him at every turn. He has hit four free throws, and was noticably exasperated after being fouled on a late drive.

Tim Duncan, meanwhile, has 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks, while Tony Parker has 12 points and five assists. The rest of the Spurs are 6-of-16 from the floor.

Duncan’s showing came despite an aggressive Cleveland defense that sometimes included three men collapsing on him.

Cleveland, however, is enduring an even more miserable shooting night, hitting only 36 percent. Sasha Pavlovic has eight points.

The Spurs, worried about Cleveland’s rebounding prowess, especially on the offensive boards, are leading in the overall department, 22-18, with both teams collecting five offensive caroms.

 On the one hand, with 14.1 seconds remaining, the Spurs aren’t losing. San Antonio is up, 37-35.

On the other hand, however, it’s been awful basketball on both sides.

 Well, that’s more like it.

After missing nine shots over an eight-minute span, stretching back into the first quarter, Tony Parker has exploded to key a 9-0 San Antonio run to give the Spurs a 31-25 lead with 4:41 remaining.

Parker hit a bucket, then rebounded his own missed free throw to sink another, then dished a beautiful feed to Francisco Elson for a dunk and eventual three-point play and followed that with a sparkling underhanded assist under the basket to Tim Duncan for a slam.

Cleveland quickly called timeout.

Stunningly, Cleveland’s LeBron James, considered the X factor for the Cavaliers coming into the series, remains scoreless from the field, missing all six of his shots. He has two free throws.

Duncan has 12 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots, while Parker has 10 points and four assists.

To this point, Cleveland has no players in double figures in scoring, shooting 32.3 percent.

 It’s gotten ice cold in here, and that’s not a good thing for the Spurs or their fans.

San Antonio has missed nine straight shots, including six consecutive misfires in this quarter, as Cleveland has rallied to a 25-22 lead with 6:04 remaining.

It’s been ugly basketball on both sides, with San Antonio shooting 37.5 percent and Cleveland 34.5 percent thus far. In fact, LeBron James, who has spent plenty of time on the bench this quarter, has scored two points — both on free throws.

 Bowen is back and playing.

 The Spurs have gone ice cold from the field, missing their first three shots of the second quarter — and five straight overall — and turning the ball over three times, allowing the Cavaliers to creep back to 20-19 with 8:37 left.

It’s become an ugly game of missed shots and blown opportunities, and the Spurs have been particularly guilty.

Of significant concern is Tim Duncan drawing his second foul with 8:37 — predictably on an exaggerated Anderson Varejao performance.

Additionally, forward Bruce Bowen — who had smothered LeBron James in the early going — headed to the locker room with a trainer late in the first quarter. The reason wasn’t immediately known.

First Quarter: Spurs 20, Cavaliers

The Spurs hold the lead, but the story to this point is about the team’s defense, instead of its offense.

Bruce Bowen, with occasional help, kept LeBron James scoreless until he sank two free throws with 1:12 remaining. But it has been a frustrating night overall for the young superstar. He has been badly blocked by Tim Duncan on one shot, missed his first four shots and, with 3.2 seconds remaining, was hit with an offensive charge against Manu Ginobili.

Duncan has eight points and four rebounds to lead the Spurs, while Tony Parker has six to go with two assists, though playing only seven minutes.

 Welcome, Manu. We’ve been waiting for you.

Ginobili, the beneficiary of a tipped steal, took it the length of the court — dribbling through the legs of Cavs’ guard Daniel Gibson en route — for an uncontested layup and an 18-13 Spurs lead with 2:26 remaining.

It was another highlight moment in a solid start for San Antonio, which has gotten eight points and three rebounds from Tim Duncan.

Perhaps more importantly, Bruce Bowen — with occasional late help — has held LeBron James scoreless with misses on his first four shots.

Sasha Pavlovic has four points to lead Cleveland, which is shooting only 35.3 percent at this point.

 We’re 6:08 into Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and there has been a significant development for the Spurs.

LeBron James has not scored.

Indeed, with 6:01 remaining, James escaped the one-on-one defense of Bruce Bowen on the perimeter and steamed toward the basket. There waiting was Tim Duncan, who soared with James and stuffed the star’s shot attempt.

It mirrored the smothering defense the Spurs have employed on James, who has settled for a lone assist in the early going as San Antonio has bulled to a 16-10 lead.

Tony Parker has led the charge, taking advantage of his speed advantage over Larry Hughes to score six quick points. Duncan has eight points and two rebounds.

Michael Finley, playing in his first NBA Finals, fittingly drew first blood with a jumper to start things, only 25 seconds into the contest.

The Finals Countdown

Jordin Sparks sang the National Anthem. This just in: The American Idol winner has some huge pipes. Nicely done, for a Suns fan.

 A foreboding image for the Spurs early on: Referee Steve Javie on site. As Suns fans claimed, loudly, Javie is notoriously hard on the home teams in the playoffs.

We’ll see.

 A nice image for the Spurs. A sellout crowd, on its feet, all dressed in the white T-shirts handed out by H-E-B and the Spurs at the door.

Not crazy about the choice of white — apparently, it will play nice on television — but it’s a nice show of unity.

 The NBA Finals brings together the world, literally. More than 450 media members are on hand, with more than 40 countries represented. It makes for a cool picture, literally, as the international media — tucked into an upper corner adjacent to the Fan Fiesta area — has the flags of their respective countries tacked in front of their tables.

At courtside, however, a scattering of celebrities also are on hand, including the usual — Desperate Housewives actress and Tony Parker fiancee Eva Longoria — and not usual — actor Terry Crews, who played “Cheeseburger Eddy” on the most recent installment of “The Longest Yard.” Also on hand is Phoenix Suns forward Boris Diaw, Parker’s best friend and pending best man at the Spur’s wedding next month in France.

Among other sports figures, Dr. J., Julius Erving, has been holding court at courtside, as was fellow Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler.

About 20 minutes ago, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, pretty in jeans and a blouse, practiced her National Anthem with about five security folks surrounding her. Why? No one could figure. She is a Suns fan. Perhaps that’s it.

 Commissioner David Stern, in his pre-series address to the media, noted that tonight’s Game 1 will be “broadcast across 15 different platforms of ESPN,” including ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPN Deportes, etc. Game 2, meanwhile, will be telecast in high-definition 3D (HD 3D), a process that was first tried out for fans who watched one of the Cavaliers road games at Quicken Loans Arena.

 Stern was forced to answer again a question regarding the perception “there’s a certain segment of the NBA fan base that believes the Spurs’ path to this point right now was tained by the suspensions in the Phoenix series.”

In a somewhat surprising development, Stern indicated that the rule, recently discussed among league owners, may not face alteration.

“I would say without making light of it, there’s certainly geographically located — there is a very intense segment in the state of Arizona, and it concerns me that the enforcement of the rule gives them that impression, but it is what it is,” Stern said. “We recently brought the subject up for discussion at our Competition Committee meeting, and there was no proposal to change it.

“Our teams are satisfied with the enforcement and generally felt that any other enforcement would have been quite questionable, given the past enforcement and the general awareness of the rule.”

 For the record, KENS-TV sports anchor Joe Reinagel has the Spurs winning in five games. For the record, I think it will be six. So there.

The Air Up Here

 Yep, it’s the NBA Finals. The evidence of it can be found in the seating configuration for much of the media on hand.

With hundreds of reporters on hand, including many from overseas, we’re tucked into the upper regions of the AT&T Center, in front of the Fan Fiesta area. As I write, some fans are wandering in and out of the area, with all the resulting bells and sirens.

In concert with that, the braying of the various radio and television talk show hosts, answering callers and holding sway in languages from Ohioan to Korean. When you hear thus, you know something special is happening in San Antonio.

 The L.A. Times, never a Spurs favorite over the years, housed an interesting column by Mark Heisler this morning. The Spurs, he said, are about to surpass someone interesting.

The Lakers.

“If the Spurs sound familiar but you just can’t place them, they’re the little team from Nowhere, Texas … that’s expected to win its fourth title in nine seasons … which would put San Antonio one ahead of the Lakers over the same span,” he writes. “In other words, barring a historic upset, the Shaquille O’Neal-Kobe Bryant Lakers are not only history, they’re about to be eclipsed by their old foils, who may or may not have been as great but indisputably stood the test of time.”

 As you know doubt read in Jeanne Jakle’s blog this afternoon, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks will sing the National Anthem this evening. She’ll be the second Idol to do so in San Antonio, Haley Scarnato.

 Cleveland guard Larry Hughes will play tonight, of course, but only after reportedly receiving injections in his injured foot to numb the pain. “I’m learning to deal with my pain and my tolerance has gone up,” he told Cleveland radio.